Hi everyone. It’s Annie the IronWife, back to talk about the rewards and occasional downsides of being married to someone getting ready for an IRONMAN. I received some good feedback from many of you after my last post, and I think a lot of spouses out there can relate to this month's topic: the trials and tribulations of watching your spouse's body transform while your own body remains woefully the same.

Let me explain.

My husband the IRONMAN has recently lost a substantial amount of weight. Somewhere in the ballpark of 75 pounds over 18 months, meaning he doesn’t even look like the same person anymore. It’s interesting being a life partner to a person who has undergone such a dramatic transformation. Especially when the conversation inevitably turns to me.

Here’s how it usually goes. My husband and I are at a party where many people are seeing him for the first time since he lost the weight. People are doing double-takes, coming up and congratulating him then discretely pulling his business partners aside and asking them if he has cancer or if he intentionally lost all that weight. (Side note: My husband became a vegan in addition to riding 100 miles in a single day on his bicycle on a regular basis. So we’re not talking Weight Watchers here.)

Me: Um. Not really. (Translation: Did you not just see me over there bogarting the chocolate fountain, stabbing people with toothpicks who got too close? Also, let’s be honest, haven’t I GAINED about eight pounds since last I saw you at one of these parties? The IRONMAN endurance training train stopped at the cheesecake buffet. But thanks for asking.)

It’s awkward.

At the end of the day, however, I’m just so proud of my husband and the hard work he's done that I have to laugh it off. All I can do is continue to do my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle as best as it fits into MY life and MY schedule, which these days is very different from my husband's. But more on that later.

What about the rewards of being a so-called "Ironspouse," you may ask?

Obviously there are clear rewards, the first being that I have a super sexy husband who’s strong as an ox and now healthy and happy. Sometimes I see him out of the corner of my eye and I’m like "Why is Brad Pitt taking out my trash?" Seriously, the guy is a total stud. So that’s fun.

The biggest reward, though, is in the change in his vitals, such as blood pressure and cholesterol. He went from creeping towards needing to be put on medication at age 36 to completely revolutionizing his health and ridding himself of all warning signs related to cholesterol and heart disease by age 37. And the gift of my husband’s good health is truly the best gift he could give to me and our families. I want him here for a long time and if setting goals like completing an IRONMAN helps inspire him to make those healthy changes, then consider me proud.

And while he’s up at the crack of dawn riding 100 miles, I may be face-deep in a chocolate fountain, followed by a three-week Jazzercise-attendance-guilt-spurt. But hey, it works for us (most of the time) and ultimately I couldn't be more proud of Thad. So don't take it too hard next time someone catches you eating a Twinkie while your spouse is doing hill drills in the 90 degree heat. Be proud of their achievements and do what's right for you!